Straw

ABSTRACT

A reusable straw is provided. The straw can be opened and closed at a seam along its length, without requirement of one or more additional tools. The seams can be either in a single joint configuration or a double joint configuration.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates generally to a straw. More so, thepresent invention relates to a resealable straw.

Description of the Related Art

Disposable plastic items have become a serious environmental hazard.Disposable plastic items such as plastic straws have featured inwildlife advocacy videos where wildlife have been harmed by strawscarelessly discarded in the environment.

Biodegradable straws that are made of bamboo and recycled paper aretypical alternatives. These solutions could not be put to widespreadcommercial use due to their high costs and side effects such asdestruction of bamboo plantation for making straws. Also recycling costis traditionally high. In addition, cleanliness of straws remainsanother hurdle in adoption of above alternatives. Requirements ofadditional tools to clean straws, especially on a large scale, has beenan additional hurdle in adoption of above alternatives.

In light of the above mentioned drawbacks, there exists a need of areusable straw that can be easily cleaned.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the disclosure is to provide a straw that can becleaned without requirement of a cleaning tool.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a reusable straw.

Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a straw thatcan be manually cleaned.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the disclosure in general terms, reference willnow be made to the accompanying figure, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a straw, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross section view of a straw, in accordance withanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the accompanying figures are intended to presentillustrations of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Thisfigure is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Itshould also be noted that accompanying figure is not necessarily drawnto scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to selected embodiments of thepresent disclosure in conjunction with accompanying figures. Theembodiments described herein are not intended to limit the scope of thedisclosure, and the present disclosure should not be construed aslimited to the embodiments described. This disclosure may be embodied indifferent forms without departing from the scope and spirit of thedisclosure. It should be understood that the accompanying figure isintended and provided to illustrate embodiments of the disclosuredescribed below and are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawing,like numbers refer to like elements throughout, and thicknesses anddimensions of some components may be exaggerated for providing betterclarity and ease of understanding.

It should be noted that the terms “first”, “second”, and the like,herein do not denote any order, ranking, quantity, or importance, butrather are used to distinguish one element from another. Further, theterms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, butrather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.

FIG. 1 illustrates a straw 100, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The straw 100 is a hollow cylindrical structure thatcan be opened along a seam 105 on its outer surface. The straw 100 canbe made of flexible materials such as plastic, rubber, polymers,silicone and so forth. It should be noted that any other material withsimilar properties can be used. The seam 105 is extended longitudinallyparallel to an axis of the straw 100. The seam is an attached detachmechanism that allows the straw 100 to be opened at the seam 105,cleaned and then closed at the seam 105. The seam 105 allows the straw100 to be opened and closed along the seam 105 multiple times.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the seam 105 is a singlejoint configuration. The single-joint configuration will operate like aflexible flap that adjoins at one point in the straw 100 circumference.It can latch to attach with several methods such as pressurelock-channel seals, magnetic assistor with the ends of the straw deviceshall joint together with a channel locking configuration requiring theattraction properties of a magnetic flux provided by magnets, revolvearound straps, binders, and clips.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the seam 105 is a doublejoint configuration. The double-jointed configuration leverages asliding channel mechanism, where the two opposite sides of the straw 100will detach and attach via a designed channel locking system. Thisconfiguration is depicted in FIG. 2. 11. In the double jointconfiguration, the seam has a male connection and a female connection onopposing pieces of the straw. The male connection and the femaleconnection snap fit to form the straw 100. In an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, after the male connection and the female connectionare snap fitted to form the straw 100, a banded mechanism is used tosecure the straw 100 at both ends. The banded mechanism has a closedlooped flexible band such as a rubber band. In an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the straw 100 and the seam 105 is made of a firstmaterial such as plastic, rubber, polymer, silicone, and so forth. Inanother embodiment of the present disclosure, the straw 100 and the seam105 is made of the first material and a second material respectively. Itwill be understood to a person ordinarily skilled in the art that theseal can be made of several existing materials and does not impact thescope of the present disclosure.

The straw as claimed in claim 9, wherein the seam is in a double jointconfiguration such that the straw is secured by a banded mechanism atboth ends of the straw, wherein the banded mechanism has a closed loopedflexible band.

It will be apparent to a person ordinarily skilled in the art thatvarious types of seams can be used in the straw 100 without limiting thescope of the present disclosure. The seam 105 can be opened using handswithout need of an additional tool.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross section view 200 of the straw 100, inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. The straw100 has the seam 105 that can be snap fitted using hands, without therequirement of additional tools. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the straw 100 can have a length, outer diameter and innerdiameter of 230 mm, 10 mm and 7 mm respectively. It will be understoodto a person ordinarily skilled in the art that the straw 100 can haveany shape and size without impacting the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Present disclosure provides several advantages over existing art. Thestraw 100 can be manually opened using hand pressure, withoutrequirement of an additional tool. Also, the straw 100 can be manuallycleaned, without requirement of an additional tool.

What is claimed is:
 1. A straw comprising: a cylindrical structure,wherein the cylindrical structure is defined by a length, an outerdiameter and an inner diameter, wherein the outer diameter is greaterthan the inner diameter, wherein the cylindrical structure has a seamalong the length, wherein the seam can be opened and closed without theuse of one or more tools.
 2. The straw as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe cylindrical structure is made of one of a plastic, rubber, polymer,and silicone.
 3. The straw as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecylindrical structure is flexible.
 4. The straw as claimed in claim 1,wherein the seam is in a single joint configuration.
 5. The straw asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the seam is in a double joint configuration,wherein the seam has a male connection and a female connection, whereinthe male connection and the female connection are on opposing pieces ofthe straw.
 6. The straw as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seam is in adouble joint configuration, wherein the seam and the straw are made of afirst material.
 7. The straw as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seam isin a double joint configuration, wherein the straw are made of a firstmaterial and the seam is made of a second material, wherein the seam isattached to the straw.
 8. The straw as claimed in claim 1, wherein theseam is in a double joint configuration such that the straw is securedby a banded mechanism, wherein the banded mechanism has a closed loopedflexible bands at both ends of the straw.
 9. A straw comprising: acylindrical structure, wherein the cylindrical structure is defined by alength, an outer diameter and an inner diameter, wherein the outerdiameter is greater than the inner diameter, wherein the cylindricalstructure has a seam along the length, wherein the seam can be openedand closed without the use of one or more tools, wherein the cylindricalstructure is flexible, wherein the seam is in a single jointconfiguration or a double joint configuration.
 10. The straw as claimedin claim 9, wherein the cylindrical structure is made of one of aplastic, rubber, polymer, and silicone.
 11. The straw as claimed inclaim 9, wherein the seam is in a double joint configuration, whereinthe seam has a male connection and a female connection, wherein the maleconnection and the female connection are on opposing pieces of thestraw.
 12. The straw as claimed in claim 9, wherein the seam is in adouble joint configuration, wherein the seam and the straw are made of afirst material.
 13. The straw as claimed in claim 9, wherein the seam isin a double joint configuration, wherein the straw are made of a firstmaterial and the seam is made of a second material, wherein the seam isattached to the straw.
 14. The straw as claimed in claim 9, wherein theseam is in a double joint configuration such that the straw is securedby a banded mechanism, wherein the banded mechanism has a closed loopedflexible bands at both ends of the straw.
 15. A straw comprising: acylindrical structure, wherein the cylindrical structure is defined by alength, an outer diameter and an inner diameter, wherein the outerdiameter is greater than the inner diameter, wherein the cylindricalstructure has a seam along the length, wherein the seam can be openedand closed without the use of one or more tools, wherein the cylindricalstructure is flexible, wherein the seam is in a single jointconfiguration or a double joint configuration, when the seam is in adouble joint configuration the seam has a male connection and a femaleconnection, wherein the male connection and the female connection are onopposing pieces of the straw, wherein the straw is made of a firstmaterial and the seam is made of one of the first material and a secondmaterial.
 16. The straw as claimed in claim 15, wherein the cylindricalstructure is made of one of a plastic, rubber, polymer, and silicone.17. The straw as claimed in claim 9, wherein the seam is in a doublejoint configuration such that the straw is secured by a bandedmechanism, wherein the banded mechanism has a closed looped flexiblebands at both ends of the straw.